On-Demand Webinars

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On-demand webinars are archived recordings of previous PLA webinars available 24/7 for viewing at your convenience.

Click to view all webinars—both live and on-demand—currently available in the ALA eLearning catalog.

Please note: As PLA transitions its webinar content to the new, centralized ALA eLearning site, some older on-demand webinars may be temporarily unavailable for purchase. If you’d like to purchase access to an older on-demand webinar, please contact PLA at plawebinars@ala.org and we will follow up with you when these products are available on the new eLearning site. However, many of PLA’s on-demand webinars are free, each denoted with a green “Free!” icon below the title.

 

On-DemandWebinarFree!
ACRL and PLA staff discuss the data and assessment products, Project Outcome and Benchmark, and how they can help your group, consortia, or state library administrative agency. Libraries across the country use these tools for benchmarking, understanding trends, advocating for better resources, and assessment. Utilizing the group functionalities of these tools will allow you and your group’s member libraries to easily use peer data, standardized measurements, and robust interactive reporting tools to demonstrate the value of library programs and services.
On-DemandWebinarFree!
Benchmark: Library Metrics and Trends features interactive data visualizations that allow libraries to easily explore peer comparisons across a wide range of metrics related to library programs, services, and operations. Learn how Benchmark can support your library in everyday decision-making. Get a behind-the-scenes look at Benchmark’s interactive and user-friendly data dashboards and reporting tools for public library subscribers. These feature data from PLA annual surveys, the IMLS Public Libraries Survey, and the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
On-DemandWebinarFree!
Understand how libraries use their unique programs, services, partnerships, and facilities in support of community needs—now and in the future. This free on-demand webinar provides an overview of results from the Public Library Association's (PLA) 2022 Public Library Services for Strong Communities Survey. Learn how libraries can apply the results to planning and advocacy, and how to engage in PLA's ongoing data initiatives. The 2022 Survey Report is freely and publicly accessible on the PLA website.
On-DemandWebinarFree!
PLA is excited to announce a new feature available in Project Outcome for public libraries! Beginning in March 2023, users are able to link their program surveys to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This on-demand webinar shares how libraries have applied the SDGs. Learn about the SDGs and how your library can leverage Project Outcome to capture and share your library’s impact in its community and the impact of libraries worldwide.
On-DemandWebinarFree!
Public libraries are increasingly responding to violent and inflammatory speech and targeted attacks on their buildings, workers, and patrons. Over the last two weeks of September, libraries in five cities faced bomb or shooting threats that resulted in canceled events and closures. These incidents also come directly on the heels of widespread intimidation related to censorship in the past year. Thankfully, no one was hurt in these recent threats, but the stress and disruption of service take a toll on library workers and the communities they serve.
On-DemandWebinarFree!
An overview of the results of the 2021 annual survey on Public Library Staff and Diversity. The results provide new and updated information related to beginning librarian and library director salaries; staff roles; hiring and retention efforts; and equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) goals and activities. This webinar will highlight how the data suggests both opportunities and challenges for the future of public libraries. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and learn how to engage in PLA’s on-going data-related initiatives.
On-DemandWebinarFree!
Every day community members who lack basic computer knowledge and skills access their local public libraries hoping to complete life tasks many of us take for granted. The Public Library Association (PLA) is proud to partner with AT&T to expand upon its work helping libraries and their communities close the digital divide through new and improved DigitalLearn.org courses and training materials.
On-DemandWebinarFree!
Fresh Start @ Your Library began locally at the Long Branch (NJ) Public Library, providing community reentry support to individuals returning to communities after serving time in prison or jail. In the fall of 2019, the New Jersey State Library, with grant funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and in partnership with the New Jersey State Parole Board, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Long Branch Public Library, and Free Library of Philadelphia (PA), embarked on a project to scale up Fresh Start @ Your Library.
On-DemandWebinarFree!
Benchmark: Library Metrics and Trends is the latest evolution in PLA’s data-driven initiatives and tools for libraries. It features a range of interactive data visualizations that allow libraries to easily make peer comparisons across a wide range of metrics related to library programs, services, and operations. Learn how Benchmark can support your library in everyday decision making, such as establishing baselines and identifying opportunities to improve.
On-DemandWebinarFree!
The Census is an essential source for discovering and reconstructing local and family history. Rich data about communities, neighborhoods, and families document local demographics, immigration and naturalization information, ancestral family names, relationships, birth years, and birthplaces. Although the U.S. government has conducted a Census every ten years since 1790, the categories of data collected and the details provided in the Census records vary. Learn how categories for race, ethnicity, and other demographics have changed over time and how that impacts research.